Tomato variety n 6416

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a new and distinct hybrid variety of tomato, N 6416 or NUN 00210 TOP which is especially useful as processing tomato.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of plant breeding and, morespecifically, to the development of tomato variety N 6416 (alsodesignated as NUN 00210 TOP or NUN 00210).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The goal of vegetable breeding is to combine various desirable traits ina single variety/hybrid. Such desirable traits may include greateryield, resistance to diseases, insects or other pests, tolerance to heatand drought, better agronomic quality, higher nutritional value,enhanced growth rate and improved fruit properties.

Breeding techniques take advantage of a plant's method of pollination.There are two general methods of pollination: a plant self-pollinates ifpollen from one flower is transferred to the same or another flower ofthe same genotype. A plant cross-pollinates if pollen comes to it from aflower of a different genotype.

Plants that have been self-pollinated and selected for a uniform typeover many generations become homozygous at almost all gene loci andproduce a uniform population of true breeding progeny of homozygousplants. A cross between two such homozygous plants of differentvarieties produces a uniform population of hybrid plants that areheterozygous for many gene loci. The extent of heterozygosity in thehybrid is a function of the genetic distance between the parents.Conversely, a cross of two plants each heterozygous at a number of lociproduces a segregating population of hybrid plants that differgenetically and are not uniform. The resulting non-uniformity makesperformance unpredictable.

Tomato cultivars may be grouped by maturity, i.e. the time required fromplanting the seed to the stage where fruit harvest can occur. Standardmaturity classifications include ‘early’, ‘midseason’ or late-maturing'.Another classification for tomatoes is the developmental timing of fruitset. ‘Determinant’ plants grow foliage, then transition into areproductive phase of flower setting, pollination and fruit development.Consequently, determinant cultivars have a large proportion of the fruitripen within a short time frame. Growers that harvest only once in aseason favor determinant type cultivars. In contrast, ‘indeterminate’types grow foliage, then enter a long phase where flower and fruitdevelopment proceed along with new foliar growth. Growers that harvestthe same plants multiple times favor indeterminate type cultivars. Inresponse to more recent consumer demands for dietary diversity, tomatobreeders have developed a wider range of colors. In addition toexpanding the range of red colored fruits, there are cultivars thatproduce fruits that are creamy white, lime green, yellow, green, golden,orange and purple. Additionally, there are multi-colored varietiesexemplified by mainly red fruited varieties with green shoulders, andboth striped- and variegated-colored fruit.

The fruits of tomato plants which are more suitable for processing aregenerally red colored and have pink to red/crimson fruit flesh.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention provides a tomato plant of thevariety designated N 6416. Also provided are tomato plants having all oressentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofsuch plants. Parts of the tomato plant of the present invention are alsoprovided, for example, including a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a fruit, ascion, a rootstock and a cell of the plant.

The invention also concerns seed of tomato variety N 6416. The tomatoseed of the invention may be provided as an essentially homogeneouspopulation of tomato seed. Therefore, seed of the invention may bedefined as forming at least about 97% of the total seed, including atleast about 98%, 99% or more of the seed. The population of tomato seedmay be particularly defined as being essentially free from other seed.The seed population may be separately grown to provide an essentiallyhomogeneous population of tomato plants according to the invention. Alsoencompassed are plants grown from seeds of tomato variety N 6416 andplant parts thereof.

Another aspect refers to a tomato plant, or a part thereof, having allor essentially all the physiological and morphological characteristicsof a tomato plant of tomato variety N 6416.

In still another aspect the invention relates to a plant comprising arootstock or scion of N 6416.

In another aspect of the invention, a tissue culture of regenerablecells of a plant of variety N 6416 is provided. The tissue culture willpreferably be capable of regenerating plants capable of expressing allof the physiological and morphological characteristics of a plant of theinvention, and of regenerating plants having substantially the samegenotype as other such plants. Examples of some such physiological andmorphological characteristics include those traits set forth in Table 1herein. The regenerable cells in such tissue cultures may be derived,for example, from embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves,anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalk. Thus, atissue culture may comprise regenerable cells from embryos, meristems,cotyledons, pollen, leaves, anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower,seed and stalk. Still further, the present invention provides tomatoplants regenerated from a tissue culture of the invention, the plantshaving all the physiological and morphological characteristics of aplant of the invention.

In yet another aspect of the invention, processes are provided forproducing tomato seeds, plants and fruit, which processes generallycomprise crossing a first parent tomato plant with a second parenttomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or second parent tomatoplants is a plant of the of the variety designated.

These processes may be further exemplified as processes for preparinghybrid tomato seed or plants, wherein a first tomato plant is crossedwith a second tomato plant of a different, distinct variety to provide ahybrid that has, as one of its parents, the tomato plant variety N 6416.

Also provided are one or more progeny plants (offspring or descendants)of a tomato plant designated N 6416 obtained by further breeding saidvariety designated N 6416. Said progeny plant(s) has/have essentiallyall physiological and morphological characteristics of variety N 6416when grown under the same environmental conditions. In one embodiment,said progeny plant(s) has/have (see USDA criteria): a mature plantheight that is at least 35 cm, or preferably 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, oreven 45.7 cm; a large canopy; between 1 and 4 nodes before the firstinflorescence; 1 node between early inflorescences; a simple typeinflorescence; a mature fruit length that is at least about 50, orpreferably 55, 56, 57, 58, or even about 58.6 mm; a light gray-greenfruit base, e.g. RHS Yellow Green 149D; very concentrated fruitingseason; early relative maturity in areas tested; and principle uses thatinclude whole-pack canning, concentrated products and dicing.

In one embodiment of the invention, the invention provides a method forproducing a seed of a variety derived from N 6416 comprising the stepsof (a) crossing a tomato plant of variety N 6416 with a second tomatoplant; and (b) allowing seed of a variety N 6416-derived tomato plant toform. This method can further comprise steps of (c) crossing a plantgrown from said variety N 6416-derived tomato seed with itself or asecond tomato plant to yield additional variety N 6416-derived tomatoseed; (d) growing said additional variety N 6416-derived tomato seed ofstep (c) to yield additional variety N 6416-derived tomato plants; andoptionally (e) repeating the crossing and growing steps of (c) and (d)to generate further variety N 6416-derived tomato plants. For example,the second tomato plant is of an inbred tomato variety.

In another embodiment of the invention, tomato variety N 6416 is crossedto produce hybrid seed of the variety designated N 6416. In any crossherein, either parent may be the male or female parent. In theseprocesses, crossing will result in the production of seed. The seedproduction occurs regardless of whether the seed is collected or not.

In one embodiment of the invention, the first step in “crossing”comprises planting seeds of a first and a second parent tomato plant,often in proximity so that pollination will occur for example, mediatedby insect vectors. Alternatively, pollen can be transferred manually.Where the plant is self-pollinated, pollination may occur without theneed for direct human intervention other than plant cultivation.

A second step may comprise cultivating or growing the seeds of the firstand the second parent tomato plants into plants that bear flowers. Athird step may comprise preventing self-pollination of the plants, suchas by emasculating the male portions of flowers, (e.g., treating ormanipulating the flowers to produce an emasculated parent tomato plant).Self-incompatibility systems may also be used in some hybrid crops forthe same purpose. Self-incompatible plants still shed viable pollen andcan pollinate plants of other varieties but are incapable of pollinatingthemselves or other plants of the same variety.

A fourth step for a hybrid cross may comprise cross-pollination betweenthe first and second parent tomato plants. In certain embodiments,pollen may be transferred manually or by the use of insect vectors. Yetanother step comprises harvesting the seeds from at least one of theparent tomato plants. The harvested seed can be grown to produce atomato plant or hybrid tomato plant.

The present invention also provides the tomato seeds and plants producedby a process that comprises crossing a first parent tomato plant with asecond parent tomato plant, wherein at least one of the first or secondparent tomato plants is a plant provided herein, such as from variety N6416. In another embodiment of the invention, tomato seed and plantsproduced by the process are first filial generation (F1) hybrid tomatoseed and plants produced by crossing a plant in accordance with theinvention with another, distinct plant. The present invention furthercontemplates plant parts of such an F1 hybrid tomato plant, and methodsof use thereof. Therefore, certain exemplary embodiments of theinvention provide an F1 hybrid tomato plant and seed thereof.

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides a method ofproducing a plant or a seed derived from variety N 6416, the methodcomprising the steps of: (a) preparing a progeny plant derived from saidvariety by crossing a plant of variety N 6416 with a second plant; and(b) selfing the progeny plant or crossing it to the second plant or to athird plant to produce a seed of a progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration.

The method may additionally comprise: (c) growing a progeny plant of afurther subsequent generation from said seed of a progeny plant of asubsequent generation and selfing the progeny plant of a subsequentgeneration or crossing it to the second, the third, or a further plant;and repeating the steps for 3 or more times, e.g., an additional 3-10generations to produce a further plant derived from the aforementionedstarting variety. The further plant derived from variety N 6416 may bean inbred variety, and the aforementioned repeated crossing steps may bedefined as comprising sufficient inbreeding to produce the inbredvariety. In the method, it may be desirable to select particular plantsresulting from step (c) for continued crossing according to steps (b)and (c). By selecting plants having one or more desirable traits, aplant is obtained which possesses some of the desirable traits of thestarting plant as well as potentially other selected traits.

The invention also concerns methods of vegetatively propagating a plantof the invention. In certain embodiments, the method comprises the stepsof: (a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from a plant ofthe invention; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferatedshoots; and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rootedplantlets. In some of these embodiments, the method further comprisesgrowing plants from said rooted plantlets.

One aspect of the invention refers to a method of producing a tomatoplant comprising crossing a tomato plant of variety N 6416 with a secondtomato plant one or more times. This method comprises in one embodimentselecting progeny from said crossing.

In another aspect of the invention, a plant of variety N 6416 comprisingan added heritable trait is provided, e.g., an Essentially DerivedVariety of N 6416 having one, two or three physiological and/ormorphological characteristics which are different from those of N 6416and which otherwise has all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of N 6416, wherein a representative sample of seed ofvariety N 6416 has been deposited under NCIMB/ATTC Accession Number______. The heritable trait may comprise a genetic locus that is, forexample, a dominant or recessive allele. In one embodiment of theinvention, a plant of the invention is defined as comprising a singlelocus conversion. For example, one, two, three or more heritable traitsmay be introgressed at any particular locus using a different allelethat confers the new trait or traits of interest. In specificembodiments of the invention, the single locus conversion confers one ormore traits such as, for example, herbicide tolerance, insectresistance, disease resistance and modulation of plant metabolism andmetabolite profiles. In further embodiments, the trait may be conferredby a naturally occurring gene introduced into the genome of the varietyby backcrossing, a natural or induced mutation, or a transgeneintroduced through genetic transformation techniques into the plant or aprogenitor of any previous generation thereof. When introduced throughtransformation, a genetic locus may comprise one or more genesintegrated at a single chromosomal location.

For example, in certain embodiments, the invention provides methods ofintroducing a desired trait into a plant of the invention comprising:(a) crossing a plant of variety N 6416 with a second tomato plant thatcomprises a desired trait to produce F1 progeny, (b) selecting an F1progeny that comprises one, two, three or more desired trait(s), (c)crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant of variety N 6416 toproduce backcross progeny, and (d) selecting backcross progenycomprising the desired trait(s) and which otherwise has all thephysiological and morphological characteristics of variety N 6416.Optionally, steps (c) and (d) can be repeated one, two, three or moretimes such as three, four, five, six or seven times, in succession toproduce selected fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth or higherbackcross progeny that comprises the desired trait. The invention alsoprovides tomato plants produced by these methods.

Still yet another aspect of the invention refers to the geneticcomplement of a tomato plant variety of the invention. The phrase“genetic complement” is used to refer to the aggregate of nucleotidesequences, the expression of which defines the phenotype of, in thepresent case, a tomato plant of, or a cell or tissue of that plant. Agenetic complement thus represents the genetic makeup of a cell, tissueor plant, and a hybrid genetic complement represents the genetic make-upof a hybrid cell, tissue or plant. The invention thus provides tomatoplant cells that have a genetic complement in accordance with the tomatoplant cells disclosed herein, and plants, seeds and plants containingsuch cells.

Plant genetic complements may be assessed by genetic marker profiles,and by the expression of phenotypic traits that are characteristic ofthe expression of the genetic complement, e.g., gene expressionprofiles, gene product expression profiles and isozyme typing profiles.It is understood that a plant of the invention or a first generationprogeny thereof could be identified by any of the many well-knowntechniques such as, for example, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms(SSLPs), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNA AmplificationFingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized Amplified Regions (SCARs),Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR), Amplified FragmentLength Polymorphisms (AFLPs) (see, e.g., EP 534 858), and SingleNucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs).

In still yet another aspect, the present invention provides hybridgenetic complements, as represented by tomato plant cells, tissues,plants, and seeds, formed by the combination of a haploid geneticcomplement of a tomato plant of the invention with a haploid geneticcomplement of a second tomato plant, preferably, another, distincttomato plant. In another aspect, the present invention provides a tomatoplant regenerated from a tissue culture that comprises a hybrid geneticcomplement of this invention.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a plant of a tomatovariety that exhibits a combination of traits comprising principle usesincluding whole-pack canning, concentrated products and dicing, simpleinflorescence and resistance to Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus (TSWV).

Said tomato variety further exhibits at least one further trait selectedfrom the group consisting of a sparsely hairy pubescence on youngerstems (USDA criterion), a mid-season onset of leaflet rolling (USDAcriterion).

In another preferred embodiment, further characteristics are resistanceto Tomato spotted wilt, Fusarium wilt race 1 (F. oxysporum f.lycopersici), Verticillium wilt race 1 (V. dah-liae), and Root KnotNematode (Meloidogyne sp.).

In certain embodiments, the combination of traits may be defined ascontrolled by genetic means for the expression of the combination oftraits found in tomato variety NUN 00210.

In still yet another aspect, the invention provides a method ofdetermining the genotype of a plant of the invention comprisingdetecting in the genome (e.g., a sample of nucleic acids) of the plantat least a first polymorphism. The method may, in certain embodiments,comprise detecting a plurality of polymorphisms in the genome of theplant, for example by obtaining a sample of nucleic acid from a plantand detecting in said nucleic acids a plurality of polymorphisms. Themethod may further comprise storing the results of the step of detectingthe plurality of polymorphisms on a computer readable medium.

In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method ofproducing tomatoes comprising: (a) obtaining a plant of the invention,wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity, and (b) collectingtomatoes from the plant.

The invention also provides for a food or feed product comprising orconsisting of a plant part described herein preferably a tomato fruit orpart thereof and/or an extract from a plant part described herein. Thefood or feed product may be fresh or processed, e.g., canned, steamed,boiled, fried, blanched and/or frozen, etc.

Any embodiment discussed herein with respect to one aspect of theinvention applies to other aspects of the invention as well, unlessspecifically noted.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent from the following detailed description. It should beunderstood, however, that the detailed description and any specificexamples provided, while indicating specific embodiments of theinvention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changesand modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention willbecome apparent to those skilled in the art from this detaileddescription.

DEFINITIONS

In the description and tables herein, a number of terms are used. Inorder to provide a clear and consistent understanding of thespecification and claims, the following definitions are provided:

The term “about” is used to indicate that a value includes the standarddeviation of error for the device or method being employed to determinethe value.

The use of the term “or” in the claims is used to mean “and/or” unlessexplicitly indicated to refer to alternatives only or the alternativesare mutually exclusive, although the disclosure supports a definitionthat refers to only alternatives and to “and/or.”

When used in conjunction with the word “comprising” or other openlanguage in the claims, the words “a” and “an” denote “one or more”unless specifically noted.

The terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are open-ended linking verbs.Any forms or tenses of one or more of these verbs, such as “comprises,”“comprising,” “has,” “having,” “includes” and “including,” are alsoopen-ended. For example, any method that “comprises,” “has” or“includes” one or more steps is not limited to possessing only those oneor more steps and also covers other unlisted steps. Similarly, any plantthat “comprises,” “has” or “includes” one or more traits is not limitedto possessing only those one or more traits and covers other unlistedtraits. The terms mentioned above also comprise the term “contain” whichis limited to specific embodiments. Thus, one embodiment of theinvention, when the terms “comprise,” “have” and “include” are used todescribe a plant, part thereof or a process, refers to an embodimentwherein the limiting term “contain” is used.

“Tomato” refers herein to plants of the species Solanum lycopersicum.

“Cultivated tomato” refers to plants of Solanum lycopersicum, i.e.varieties, breeding lines or cultivars of the species Solanumlycopersicum, cultivated by humans and having good agronomiccharacteristics; preferably such plants are not “wild plants”, i.e.plants which generally have much poorer yields and poorer agronomiccharacteristics than cultivated plants and e.g. grow naturally in wildpopulations. “Wild plants” include for example ecotypes, PI (PlantIntroduction) lines, landraces or wild accessions or wild relatives of aspecies.

“USDA descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described fortomato in the “Objective description of Variety Tomato Solanumlycopersicum”, ST-470-55 (as published by U.S. Department ofAgriculture, Agricultural Marketing Service, Science and Technology,Plant Variety Protection Office, Beltsville, Md. 20705 (available on theworld wide web at www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/) and which can be downloadedfrom the world wide web athttp://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3003738.

“UPOV descriptors” are the plant variety descriptors described fortomato in the “Guidelines for the Conduct of Tests for Distinctness,Uniformity and Stability, TG/44/10 (Geneva 2001), as published by UPOV(International Union for the Protection of New Varieties and Plants,available on the world wide web at upov.int) and which can be downloadedfrom the world wide web athttp://www.upov.int/en/publications/tg-rom/tg044/tg_(—)44_(—)10.pdf andis herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

“RHS” refers to the Royal Horticultural Society of England whichpublishes an official botanical color chart quantitatively identifyingcolors according to a defined numbering system. The chart may bepurchased from Royal Horticulture Society Enterprise Ltd RHS Garden;Wisley, Woking; Surrey GU236QB, UK, e.g., the RHS colour chart: 2007(The Royal Horticultural Society, charity No: 222879, PO Box 313 LondonSW1P2PE; sold by, e.g., TORSO-VERLAG, Obere Grüben 8•D-97877 Wertheim,Article-No.: Art62-00008 EAN-Nr.: 4250193402112).

“Genotype” refers to the genetic composition of a cell or organism.

“Phenotype” refers to the detectable characteristics of a cell ororganism, which characteristics are the manifestation of geneexpression.

As used herein, the term “plant” includes the whole plant or any partsor derivatives thereof, preferably having the same genetic makeup as theplant from which it is obtained, such as plant organs (e.g. harvested ornon-harvested tomato fruits), plant cells, plant protoplasts, plant celland/or tissue cultures from which whole plants can be regenerated, plantcalli, plant cell clumps, plant transplants, seedlings, hypocotyl,cotyledon, plant cells that are intact in plants, plant clones ormicropropagations, or parts of plants (e.g. harvested tissues ororgans), such as plant cuttings, vegetative propagations, embryos,pollen, ovules, flowers, leaves, seeds, clonally propagated plants,roots, stems, root tips, grafts, parts of any of these and the like.Also any developmental stage is included, such as seedlings, cuttingsprior or after rooting, mature plants or leaves.

“Harvested plant material” refers herein to plant parts (e.g. a fruitdetached from the whole plant) which have been collected for furtherstorage and/or further use.

“Harvested seeds” refers to seeds harvested from a line or variety, e.g.produced after self-fertilization or cross-fertilization and collected.

A plant having “(essentially) all the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics” means a plant having essentially all or all thephysiological and morphological characteristics when grown under thesame environmental conditions of the plant of N 6416 from which it wasderived, e.g. the progenitor plant, the parent, the recurrent parent,the plant used for tissue- or cell culture, etc. The skilled person willunderstand that a comparison between tomato varieties should occur whensaid varieties are grown under the same environmental conditions. Forexample, the plant may have all characteristics mentioned in Table 1. Incertain embodiments, the plant having “essentially all the physiologicaland morphological characteristics” are plants having all thephysiological and morphological characteristics, except for certaincharacteristics, such as one, two or three, mentioned, e.g. thecharacteristic(s) derived from a converted or introduced gene or traitand/or except for the characteristics which differ in an EDV. So, theplant may have all characteristics mentioned in Table 1, except for one,two or three characteristics of Table 1, in which the plant may thusdiffer.

“Distinguishing characteristics” or “distinguishing morphological and/orphysiological characteristics” refers herein the characteristics whichare distinguishing between N 6416 and other tomato varieties, such asHeinz 8504, when grown under the same environmental conditions,especially the following characteristics: 1) mature fruit length; 2)number of nodes before first inflorescence; 3) mature plant height; 4)size of canopy; 5) principle uses; 6) number of nodes between earlyinflorescences; 7) fruit base color (at mature-green stage); 8) fruitingseason; 9) relative maturity in areas tested; 10) type of inflorescence.In one aspect, the distinguishing characteristics further include atleast one, two, three or more (or all) of the characteristics listed inTable 1. Thus, a tomato plant “comprising the distinguishingcharacteristics of N 6416”, refers herein to a tomato plant which doesnot differ significantly from N 6416 in characteristics 1) to 5) above.In a further aspect the tomato plant further does not differsignificantly from N 6416 in one or more, or all characteristics 6) to10) as mentioned above. In yet a further aspect the lettuce plantfurther does not differ in at least one, two, three, four, five or sixcharacteristics selected from the characteristics listed in Table 1.

The physiological and/or morphological characteristics mentioned aboveare commonly evaluated at significance levels of 1%, 5%, 8% or 10%significance level, when measured under the same environmentalconditions. For example, a progeny plant of N 6416 may have one or more(or all, or all except one, two or three) of the essential physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics of N 6416 listed in Table 1, or oneor more or all (or all except one, two or three) of the distinguishingcharacteristics of N 6416 listed in Table 1 and above, as determined atthe 1% or 5% significance level when grown under the same environmentalconditions.

As used herein, the term “variety” or “cultivar” means a plant groupingwithin a single botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, whichgrouping, irrespective of whether the conditions for the grant of abreeder's right are fully met, can be defined by the expression of thecharacteristics resulting from a given genotype or combination ofgenotypes, distinguished from any other plant grouping by the expressionof at least one of the said characteristics and considered as a unitwith regard to its suitability for being propagated unchanged.

The terms “gene converted” or “conversion plant” in this context referto tomato plants which are often developed by backcrossing whereinessentially all of the desired morphological and physiologicalcharacteristics of parent are recovered in addition to the one or moregenes transferred into the parent via the backcrossing technique or viagenetic engineering. Likewise a “Single Locus Converted (Conversion)Plant” refers to plants which are often developed by plant breedingtechniques comprising or consisting of backcrossing, wherein essentiallyall of the desired morphological and physiological characteristics of atomato variety are recovered in addition to the characteristics of thesingle locus having been transferred into the variety via, e.g., thebackcrossing technique and/or by genetic transformation. Likewise, adouble loci converted plant/a triple loci converted plant refers toplants having essentially all of the desired morphological andphysiological characteristics of given variety, expect that at two orthree loci, respectively, it contains the genetic material (e.g., anallele) from a different variety.

A variety is referred to as an “Essentially Derived Variety” (EDV) i.e.,shall be deemed to be essentially derived from another variety, “theinitial variety” when (i) it is predominantly derived from the initialvariety, or from a variety that is itself predominantly derived from theinitial variety, while retaining the expression of the essentialcharacteristics that result from the genotype or combination ofgenotypes of the initial variety; (ii) it is clearly distinguishablefrom the initial variety; and (iii) except for the differences whichresult from the act of derivation, it conforms to the initial variety inthe expression of the essential characteristics that result from thegenotype or combination of genotypes of the initial variety. Thus, anEDV may be obtained for example by the selection of a natural or inducedmutant, or of a somaclonal variant, the selection of a variantindividual from plants of the initial variety, backcrossing, ortransformation by genetic engineering. In one embodiment, an EDV is agene converted plant.

“Plant line” is for example a breeding line which can be used to developone or more varieties.

“Hybrid variety” or “F1 hybrid” refers to the seeds of the firstgeneration progeny of the cross of two non-isogenic plants. For example,the female parent is pollinated with pollen of the male parent toproduce hybrid (F1) seeds on the female parent.

“Progeny” as used herein refers to plants derived from a plantdesignated N 6416. Progeny may be derived by regeneration of cellculture or tissue culture or parts of a plant designated N 6416 orselfing of a plant designated N 6416 or by producing seeds of a plantdesignated N 6416. In further embodiments, progeny may also encompassplants derived from crossing of at least one plant designated N 6416with another tomato plant of the same or another variety or (breeding)line, or with a wild tomato plant, backcrossing, inserting of a locusinto a plant or selecting a plant comprising a mutation or selecting avariant. A progeny is, e.g., a first generation progeny, i.e. theprogeny is directly derived from, obtained from, obtainable from orderivable from the parent plant by, e.g., traditional breeding methods(selfing and/or crossing) or regeneration. However, the term “progeny”generally encompasses further generations such as second, third, fourth,fifth, sixth, seventh or more generations, i.e., generations of plantswhich are derived from, obtained from, obtainable from or derivable fromthe former generation by, e.g., traditional breeding methods,regeneration or genetic transformation techniques. For example, a secondgeneration progeny can be produced from a first generation progeny byany of the methods mentioned above. Especially progeny of N 6416 whichare EDVs or which retain all (or all except 1, 2 or 3) physiologicaland/or morphological characteristics of N 6416 listed in Table 1, orwhich retain all (or all except 1, 2, or 3) of the distinguishingcharacteristics of N 6416 described elsewhere herein and in Table 1, areencompassed herein.

The term “traditional breeding techniques” encompasses herein crossing,selfing, selection, double haploid production, embryo rescue, protoplastfusion, marker assisted selection, mutation breeding etc. as known tothe breeder (i.e. methods other than geneticmodification/transformation/transgenic methods), by which, for example,a genetically heritable trait can be transferred from one tomato line orvariety to another.

“Crossing” refers to the mating of two parent plants. The termencompasses “cross-pollination” and “selfing”.

“Cross-pollination” refers to the fertilization by the union of twogametes from different plants.

“Backcrossing” is a traditional breeding technique used to introduce atrait into a plant line or variety. The plant containing the trait iscalled the donor plant and the plant into which the trait is transferredis called the recurrent parent. An initial cross is made between thedonor parent and the recurrent parent to produce progeny plants. Progenyplants which have the trait are then crossed to the recurrent parent.After several generations of backcrossing and/or selfing the recurrentparent comprises the trait of the donor. The plant generated in this waymay be referred to as a “single trait converted plant”.

“Selling” refers to self-pollination of a plant, i.e., the transfer ofpollen from the anther to the stigma of the same plant.

“Regeneration” refers to the development of a plant from cell culture ortissue culture or vegetative propagation.

“Vegetative propagation”, “vegetative reproduction” or “clonalpropagation” are used interchangeably herein and mean the method oftaking part of a plant and allowing that plant part to form at leastroots where plant part is, e.g., defined as or derived from (e.g. bycutting of) leaf, pollen, embryo, cotyledon, hypocotyl, cells,protoplasts, meristematic cell, root, root tip, pistil, anther, flower,shoot tip, shoot, stem, petiole, etc. When a whole plant is regeneratedby vegetative propagation, it is also referred to as a vegetativepropagation.

“Locus” (plural loci) refers to the specific location of a gene or DNAsequence on a chromosome. A locus may confer a specific trait.

“Linkage” refers to a phenomenon wherein alleles on the same chromosometend to segregate together more often than expected by chance if theirtransmission was independent.

“Marker” refers to a readily detectable phenotype, preferably inheritedin co-dominant fashion (both alleles at a locus in a diploidheterozygote are readily detectable), with no environmental variancecomponent, i.e., a heritability of 1.

“Allele” refers to one or more alternative forms of a gene locus. All ofthese loci relate to one trait. Sometimes, different alleles can resultin different observable phenotypic traits, such as differentpigmentation. However, many variations at the genetic level result inlittle or no observable variation. If a multicellular organism has twosets of chromosomes, i.e. diploid, these chromosomes are referred to ashomologous chromosomes. Diploid organisms have one copy of each gene(and therefore one allele) on each chromosome. If both alleles are thesame, they are homozygotes. If the alleles are different, they areheterozygotes.

As used herein, the terms “resistance” and “tolerance” are usedinterchangeably to describe plants that show no symptoms to a specifiedbiotic pest, pathogen, abiotic influence or environmental condition.These terms are also used to describe plants showing some symptoms butthat are still able to produce marketable product with an acceptableyield. Some plants that are referred to as resistant or tolerant areonly so in the sense that they may still produce a crop, even though theplants are stunted and the yield is reduced.

“Tissue Culture” refers to a composition comprising isolated cells ofthe same or a different type or a collection of such cells organizedinto parts of a plant.

“Transgene” or “chimeric gene” refers to a genetic locus comprising aDNA sequence which has been introduced into the genome of a tomato plantby transformation. A plant comprising a transgene stably integrated intoits genome is referred to as “transgenic plant”.

“Haploid” refers to a cell or organism having one set of the two sets ofchromosomes in a diploid.

“Diploid” refers to a cell or organism having two sets of chromosomes.

“Polyploid” refers to a cell or organism having three or more completesets of chromosomes.

“Triploid” refers to a cell or organism having three sets ofchromosomes.

“Tetraploid” refers to a cell or organism having four sets ofchromosomes.

“Average” refers herein to the arithmetic mean.

The term “mean” refers to the arithmetic mean of several measurements.The skilled person understands that the appearance of a plant depends tosome extent on the growing conditions of said plant. Thus, the skilledperson will know typical growing conditions for tomato described herein.The mean, if not indicated otherwise within this application, refers tothe arithmetic mean of measurements on at least 10 different, randomlyselected plants of a variety or line.

“Substantially equivalent” refers to a characteristic that, whencompared, does not show a statistically significant difference (e.g.,p=0.05) from the mean.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides methods and compositions relating to plants,plant parts, seeds and progenies of tomato variety N 6416.

Variety N 6416 is most similar to the commercially available varietyHeinz 8504. However, N 6416 differs from Heinz 8504 in one or more, e.g.at least two, at least three, at least four, or more, optionally allmorphological and/or physiological characteristics listed in thefollowing (see USDA criteria and also Table 1), when grown under thesame environmental conditions:

-   -   i. N 6416 has a mature fruit length that is at least 2%, or        preferably 2.5%, 3%, 3.5%, 4%, or even about 4.2% shorter than        the mature fruit length of Heinz 8504.    -   ii. N 6416 has between 1 and 4 nodes before the first        inflorescence, e.g. 2.4, whereas Heinz 8504 has between 4 and 7        nodes e.g. 6.6.    -   iii. N 6416 has a mature plant height that is at least 5%, or        preferably 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, or even about 10.3% shorter than        the mature plant height of Heinz 8504.    -   iv. N 6416 has a large sized canopy, whereas Heinz 8504 has a        medium sized canopy.    -   v. N 6416 has whole-pack canning, concentrated products and        dicing as principle uses, whereas Heinz 8504 only has        concentrated products as principle use.    -   vi. N 6416 has a number of nodes between early inflorescences        that is at least 50%, or preferably 55%, 56%, 57%, 58%, 59%,        60%, 61%, or even about 61.5% lower than the number of nodes of        Heinz 8504, e.g. between 1 and 2, whereas Heinz 8504 has 2.6.    -   vii. N 6416 has a light gray-green fruit base color        (mature-green stage), e.g. RHS Yellow Green 149D, whereas Heinz        8504 has a light green fruit base color, e.g. RHS Yellow Green        144D.    -   viii. N 6416 has a very concentrated fruiting season, whereas        Heinz 8504 has a short, concentrated fruiting season.    -   ix. N 6416 has early relative maturity in areas tested, whereas        Heinz 8504 has late relative maturity.    -   x. N 6416 has simple inflorescence, whereas Heinz 8504 has a        combination of simple and forked (2 major axes) inflorescence.

In another preferred embodiment, further characteristics are resistanceto Tomato spotted wilt, Bacterial Speck (Pseudomonas tomato), Fusariumwilt race 1 (F. oxysporum f. lycopersici), Verticillium wilt race 1 (V.dahliae), and Root Knot Nematode (M. sp.).

Breeding of Tomato Plants of the Invention

One aspect of the current invention concerns methods for crossing atomato variety provided herein with itself or a second plant and theseeds and plants produced by such methods. These methods can be used forpropagation of a variety provided herein, or can be used to producehybrid tomato seeds and the plants grown therefrom. Such hybrid seedscan be produced by crossing the parent varieties of the variety.

The development of new varieties using one or more starting varieties iswell known in the art. In accordance with the invention, novel varietiesmay be created by crossing a plant of the invention followed by multiplegenerations of breeding according to such well known methods. Newvarieties may be created by crossing with any second plant. In selectingsuch a second plant to cross for the purpose of developing novelvarieties, it may be desired to choose those plants that eitherthemselves exhibit one or more selected desirable characteristics orthat exhibit the desired characteristic(s) when in hybrid combination.Once initial crosses have been made, inbreeding and selection take placeto produce new varieties. For development of a uniform variety, oftenfive or more generations of selfing and selection are involved.

Uniform varieties of new varieties may also be developed by way ofdouble-haploids. This technique allows the creation of true breedingvarieties without the need for multiple generations of selfing andselection. In this manner, true breeding varieties can be produced in aslittle as one generation. Haploid embryos may be produced frommicrospores, pollen, anther cultures, or ovary cultures. The haploidembryos may then be doubled autonomously, or by chemical treatments(e.g. colchicine treatment). Alternatively, haploid embryos may be growninto haploid plants and treated to induce chromosome doubling. In eithercase, fertile homozygous plants are obtained. In accordance with theinvention, any of such techniques may be used in connection with a plantof the invention and progeny thereof to achieve a homozygous variety.

Backcrossing can also be used to improve an inbred plant. Backcrossingtransfers one or more heritable traits from one inbred or non-inbredsource to an inbred that lacks those traits. The exact backcrossingprotocol will depend on the characteristic(s) or trait(s) being alteredto determine an appropriate testing protocol. When the term variety N6416 is used in the context of the present invention, this also includesplants modified to include at least a first desired heritable trait suchas one, two or three desired heritable trait(s).

This can be accomplished, for example, by first crossing a superiorinbred (recurrent parent) to a donor inbred (non-recurrent parent),which carries the appropriate genetic information (e.g., an allele) atthe locus or loci relevant to the trait in question. The progeny of thiscross are then mated back to the recurrent parent followed by selectionin the resultant progeny (first backcross generation, or BC1) for thedesired trait to be transferred from the non-recurrent parent. Afterfive or more backcross generations with selection for the desired trait,the progeny are heterozygous at loci controlling the characteristicbeing transferred, but are like the superior parent for most or almostall other loci. The last backcross generation would be selfed to givepure breeding progeny for the trait being transferred.

The parental tomato plant which contributes the desired characteristicor characteristics is termed the non-recurrent parent because it can beused one time in the backcross protocol and therefore need not recur.The parental tomato plant to which the locus or loci from thenon-recurrent parent are transferred is known as the recurrent parent asit is used for several rounds in the backcrossing protocol.

Many single locus traits have been identified that are not regularlyselected for in the development of a new inbred but that can be improvedby backcrossing techniques. Single locus traits may or may not betransgenic; examples of these traits include, but are not limited to,male sterility, herbicide resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,or viral disease, insect resistance, restoration of male fertility,modified fatty acid or carbohydrate metabolism, and enhanced nutritionalquality. These comprise genes generally inherited through the nucleus.

Direct selection or screening may be applied where the single locus(e.g. allele) acts in a dominant fashion. For example, when selectingfor a dominant allele providing resistance to a bacterial disease, theprogeny of the initial cross can be inoculated with bacteria prior tothe backcrossing. The inoculation then eliminates those plants which donot have the resistance, and only those plants which have the resistanceallele are used in the subsequent backcross. This process is thenrepeated for all additional backcross generations.

Although backcrossing methods are simplified when the characteristicbeing transferred is a dominant allele, recessive, co-dominant andquantitative alleles may also be transferred. In this instance, it maybe necessary to introduce a test of the progeny to determine if thedesired locus has been successfully transferred. In the case where thenon-recurrent variety was not homozygous, the F1 progeny would not beequivalent. F1 plants having the desired genotype at the locus ofinterest could be phenotypically selected if the corresponding trait wasphenotypically detectable in a heterozygous or hemizygous state. In thecase where a recessive allele is to be transferred and the correspondingtrait is not phenotypically detectable in the heterozygous of hemizygousstate, the resultant progeny can be selfed, or crossed back to the donorto create a segregating population for selection purposes.Non-phenotypic tests may also be employed. Selected progeny from thesegregating population can then be crossed to the recurrent parent tomake the first backcross generation (BC1).

Molecular markers may also be used to aid in the identification of theplants containing both a desired trait and having recovered a highpercentage of the recurrent parent's genetic complement. Selection oftomato plants for breeding is not necessarily dependent on the phenotypeof a plant and instead can be based on genetic investigations. Forexample, one can utilize a suitable genetic marker which is closelygenetically linked to a trait of interest. One of these markers can beused to identify the presence or absence of a trait in the offspring ofa particular cross, and can be used in selection of progeny forcontinued breeding. This technique is commonly referred to as markerassisted selection. Any other type of genetic marker or other assay thatis able to identify the relative presence or absence of a trait ofinterest in a plant can also be useful for breeding purposes. Proceduresfor marker assisted selection applicable to the breeding of tomato arewell known in the art. Such methods will be of particular utility in thecase of recessive traits and variable phenotypes, or where conventionalassays may be more expensive, time consuming or otherwisedisadvantageous. Types of genetic markers which could be used inaccordance with the invention include, but are not necessarily limitedto, Simple Sequence Length Polymorphisms (SSLPs), Simple SequenceRepeats (SSR), Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), DNAAmplification Fingerprinting (DAF), Sequence Characterized AmplifiedRegions (SCARs), Arbitrary Primed Polymerase Chain Reaction (AP-PCR),Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs), and Single NucleotidePolymorphisms (SNPs).

Tomato varieties can also be developed from more than two parents. Thetechnique, known as modified backcrossing, uses different recurrentparents during the backcrossing. Modified backcrossing may be used toreplace the original recurrent parent with a variety having certain moredesirable characteristics or multiple parents may be used to obtaindifferent desirable characteristics from each.

Tomatoes are grown for use as rootstocks or scions. Typically, differenttypes of tomatoes are grafted to enhance disease resistance, which isusually conferred by the rootstock, while retaining the horticulturalqualities usually conferred by the scion. It is not uncommon forgrafting to occur between Solanum lycopersicum varieties and relatedSolanum species. Methods of grafting and vegetative propagation arewell-known in the art.

The varieties and varieties of the present invention are particularlywell suited for the development of new varieties or varieties based onthe elite nature of the genetic background of the variety. In selectinga second plant to cross with N 6416 for the purpose of developing noveltomato varieties, it will typically be preferred to choose those plantsthat either themselves exhibit one or more selected desirablecharacteristics or that exhibit the desired characteristic(s) when inhybrid combination. Examples of desirable characteristics may include,but are not limited to herbicide tolerance, pathogen resistance (e.g.,insect resistance, nematode resistance, resistance to bacterial, fungal,and viral disease), male fertility, improved harvest characteristics,enhanced nutritional quality, increased antioxidant content, improvedprocessing characteristics, high yield, improved characteristics relatedto the fruit flavor, texture, size, shape, durability, shelf life, andyield, improved vine habit, increased soluble solids content, uniformripening, delayed or early ripening, reduced blossom end scar size,seedling vigor, adaptability for soil conditions, and adaptability forclimate conditions. Qualities that may be desirable in a processingtomato are not necessarily those that would be desirable in a freshmarket tomato; thus, the selection process for desirable traits for eachspecific end use may be different. For example, certain features, suchas solids content, and firm fruit to facilitate mechanical harvestingare more desirable in the development of processing tomatoes; whereas,external features such as intensity and uniformity of fruit color,unblemished fruit, and uniform fruit size are typically more importantto the development of a fresh market product that will have greaterretailer or consumer appeal. Of course, certain traits, such as diseaseand pest resistance, high yield, and concentrated fruit set are ofinterest in any type of tomato variety or variety.

Plants of the Invention Derived by Genetic Engineering

Many useful traits that can be introduced by backcrossing, as well asdirectly into a plant, are those that are introduced by genetictransformation techniques. Genetic transformation may therefore be usedto insert a selected transgene into the tomato variety of the inventionor may, alternatively, be used for the preparation of varietiescontaining transgenes that can be subsequently transferred to thevariety of interest by crossing. Methods for the transformation ofplants, including tomato, are well known to those of skill in the art.Techniques which may be employed for the genetic transformation oftomato include, but are not limited to, electroporation, microprojectilebombardment, Agrobacterium-mediated transformation, pollen-mediatedtransformation, and direct DNA uptake by protoplasts.

To effect transformation by electroporation, one may employ eitherfriable tissues, such as a suspension culture of cells or embryogeniccallus or alternatively one may transform immature embryos or otherorganized tissue directly. In this technique, one would partiallydegrade the cell walls of the chosen cells by exposing them topectin-degrading enzymes (pectolyases) or mechanically wound tissues ina controlled manner.

To effect pollen-mediated transformation, one may apply pollenpretreated with DNA to the female reproduction parts of tomato plantsfor pollination. A pollen-mediated method for the transformation oftomato is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,806,399.

A particularly efficient method for delivering transforming DNA segmentsto plant cells is microprojectile bombardment. In this method, particlesare coated with nucleic acids and delivered into cells by a propellingforce. Exemplary particles include those comprised of tungsten,platinum, and preferably, gold. For the bombardment, cells in suspensionare concentrated on filters or solid culture medium. Alternatively,immature embryos or other target cells may be arranged on solid culturemedium. The cells to be bombarded are positioned at an appropriatedistance below the macroprojectile stopping plate.

An illustrative embodiment of a method for delivering DNA into plantcells by acceleration is the BIOLISTICS Particle Delivery System, whichcan be used to propel particles coated with DNA or cells through ascreen, such as a stainless steel or Nytex screen, onto a surfacecovered with target tomato cells. The screen disperses the particles sothat they are not delivered to the recipient cells in large aggregates.It is believed that a screen intervening between the projectileapparatus and the cells to be bombarded reduces the size of projectilesaggregate and may contribute to a higher frequency of transformation byreducing the damage inflicted on the recipient cells by projectiles thatare too large.

Microprojectile bombardment techniques are widely applicable, and may beused to transform virtually any plant species.

Agrobacterium-mediated transfer is another widely applicable system forintroducing gene loci into plant cells. An advantage of the technique isthat DNA can be introduced into whole plant tissues, thereby bypassingthe need for regeneration of an intact plant from a protoplast. ModernAgrobacterium transformation vectors are capable of replication in E.coli as well as Agrobacterium, allowing for convenient manipulations.Moreover, recent technological advances in vectors forAgrobacterium-mediated gene transfer have improved the arrangement ofgenes and restriction sites in the vectors to facilitate theconstruction of vectors capable of expressing various polypeptide codinggenes. The vectors described have convenient multi-linker regionsflanked by a promoter and a polyadenylation site for direct expressionof inserted polypeptide coding genes. Additionally, Agrobacteriumcontaining both armed and disarmed Ti genes can be used fortransformation.

In those plant species where Agrobacterium-mediated transformation isefficient, it is the method of choice because of the facile and definednature of the gene locus transfer. The use of Agrobacterium-mediatedplant integrating vectors to introduce DNA into plant cells is wellknown in the art (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055).

Transformation of plant protoplasts also can be achieved using methodsbased on calcium phosphate precipitation, polyethylene glycol treatment,electroporation, and combinations of these treatments which are wellknown in the art. Transformation of plants and expression of foreigngenetic elements is exemplified in Choi et al. (1994), and Ellul et al.(2003).

A number of promoters have utility for plant gene expression for anygene of interest including but not limited to selectable markers,scoreable markers, genes for pest tolerance, disease resistance,nutritional enhancements and any other gene of agronomic interest.Examples of constitutive promoters useful for tomato plant geneexpression include, but are not limited to, the cauliflower mosaic virus(CaMV) P-35S promoter, which confers constitutive, high-level expressionin most plant tissues, including monocots; a tandemly, partiallyduplicated version of the CaMV 35S promoter, the enhanced 35S promoter(P-e35S) the nopaline synthase promoter, the octopine synthase promoter;and the figwort mosaic virus (P-FMV) promoter (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. No.5,378,619) and an enhanced version of the FMV promoter (P-eFMV) wherethe promoter sequence of P-FMV is duplicated in tandem, the cauliflowermosaic virus 19S promoter, a sugarcane bacilliform virus promoter, acommelina yellow mottle virus promoter, and other plant DNA viruspromoters known to express in plant cells.

A variety of plant gene promoters that are regulated in response toenvironmental, hormonal, chemical, and/or developmental signals can beused for expression of an operably linked gene in plant cells, includingpromoters regulated by (1) heat, (2) light (e.g., pea rbcS-3A promoter;maize rbcS promoter; or chlorophyll a/b-binding protein promoter), (3)hormones, such as abscisic acid, (4) wounding; or (5) chemicals such asmethyl jasmonate, salicylic acid, or Safener. It may also beadvantageous to employ organ-specific promoters.

Exemplary nucleic acids which may be introduced to the tomato varietiesof this invention include, for example, DNA sequences or genes fromanother species, or even genes or sequences which originate with or arepresent in the same species, but are incorporated into recipient cellsby genetic engineering methods rather than classical reproduction orbreeding techniques. However, the term “exogenous” is also intended torefer to genes that are not normally present in the cell beingtransformed, or perhaps simply not present in the form, structure, etc.,as found in the transforming DNA segment or gene, or genes which arenormally present and that one desires to express in a manner thatdiffers from the natural expression pattern, e.g., to over-express.Thus, the term “exogenous” gene or DNA is intended to refer to any geneor DNA segment that is introduced into a recipient cell, regardless ofwhether a similar gene may already be present in such a cell. The typeof DNA included in the exogenous DNA can include DNA which is alreadypresent in the plant cell, DNA from another plant, DNA from a differentorganism, or a DNA generated externally, such as a DNA sequencecontaining an antisense message of a gene, or a DNA sequence encoding asynthetic or modified version of a gene.

Many hundreds if not thousands of different genes are known and couldpotentially be introduced into a tomato plant according to theinvention. Non-limiting examples of particular genes and correspondingphenotypes one may choose to introduce into a tomato plant include oneor more genes for insect tolerance, such as a Bacillus thuringiensis(B.t.) gene, pest tolerance such as genes for fungal disease control,herbicide tolerance such as genes conferring glyphosate tolerance, andgenes for quality improvements such as yield, nutritional enhancements,environmental or stress tolerances, or any desirable changes in plantphysiology, growth, development, morphology or plant product(s). Forexample, structural genes would include any gene that confers insecttolerance including but not limited to a Bacillus insect control proteingene as described in WO 99/31248, herein incorporated by reference inits entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052, herein incorporated by referencein its entirety, U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,365 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,275,herein incorporated by reference it their entirety. In anotherembodiment, the structural gene can confer tolerance to the herbicideglyphosate as conferred by genes including, but not limited toAgrobacterium strain CP4 glyphosate resistant EPSPS gene (aroA:CP4) asdescribed in

U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435, herein incorporated by reference in itsentirety, or glyphosate oxidoreductase gene (GOX) as described in U.S.Pat. No. 5,463,175, herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Alternatively, the DNA coding sequences can affect these phenotypes byencoding a non-translatable RNA molecule that causes the targetedinhibition of expression of an endogenous gene, for example viaantisense- or cosuppression-mediated mechanisms. The RNA could also be acatalytic RNA molecule (e.g., a ribozyme) engineered to cleave a desiredendogenous mRNA product. Thus, any gene which produces a protein or mRNAwhich expresses a phenotype or morphology change of interest is usefulfor the practice of the present invention.

Deposit Information

A total of 2500 seeds of the hybrid variety N 6416 were depositedaccording to the Budapest Treaty by Nunhems B. V. on ______, at theAmerican Type Culture Collection (ATCC), 10801 University Boulevard,Manassas, Va. 20110-2209 USA or at the NCIMB Ltd., Ferguson Building,Craibstone Estate, Bucksburn, Aberdeen AB21 9YA, United Kingdom (NCIMB).The deposit has been assigned Accession Number PTA ______ or NCIMB______.

A deposit of N 6416 and of the male and female parent line is alsomaintained at Nunhems B.V. Access to the deposit will be availableduring the pendency of this application to persons determined by theDirector of the U.S. Patent Office to be entitled thereto upon request.Subject to 37 C.F.R.§1.808(b), all restrictions imposed by the depositoron the availability to the public of the deposited material will beirrevocably removed upon the granting of the patent. The deposit will bemaintained for a period of 30 years, or 5 years after the most recentrequest, or for the enforceable life of the patent whichever is longer,and will be replaced if it ever becomes nonviable during that period.Applicant does not waive any rights granted under this patent on thisapplication or under the Plant Variety Protection Act (7 USC 2321 etseq.).

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail byway of illustration and example for purposes of clarity andunderstanding, it will be obvious that certain changes and modificationsmay be practiced within the scope of the invention, as limited only bythe scope of the appended claims.

All references cited herein are hereby expressly incorporated herein byreference.

Experiments Development of N 6416

The hybrid N 6416 was developed from a male and female proprietaryinbred line of Nunhems. The female and male parents were crossed toproduce hybrid (F1) seeds of N 6416. The seeds of N 6416 can be grown toproduce hybrid plants and parts thereof (e.g. tomato fruit). The hybridN 6416 can be propagated by seeds or vegetative.

The hybrid variety is uniform and genetically stable. This has beenestablished through evaluation of horticultural characteristics. Severalhybrid seed production events resulted in no observable deviation ingenetic stability. Coupled with the confirmation of genetic stability ofthe female and male parents the Applicant concluded that N 6416 isuniform and stable.

HEINZ 8504 is considered to be the most similar variety to N 6416. HEINZ8504 is a commercial variety from Heinz. In Table 1 a comparison betweenN 6416 and HEINZ 8504 is shown based on a trial in the USA. Triallocation: Acampo, Calif., USA (coordinates: 38.192873N, 121.232637W).Transplanting date: Apr. 17, 2013.

Two replications of 50 plants each, from which 15 plants or plant partswere randomly selected, were used to measure characteristics. In Table 1the USDA descriptors of N 6416 (this application) and reference HEINZ8504 (commercial variety) are listed.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a plant having the physiological and morphologicalcharacteristics of tomato variety N 6416. A description of thephysiological and morphological characteristics of tomato variety N 6416is presented in Table 1.

TABLE 1 Comparison between N 6416 and HEINZ 8504 N 6416 HEINZ 8504Observation trial planted in: Field Field Observation trial plantingtype: Transplant Transplant Dates of seeding/transplanting Apr. 17, 2013Apr. 17, 2013 (Acampo, California, (Acampo, California, USA) USA)Observation trial planting type: Transplanted and Transplanted andunstaked unstaked Seedling: anthocyanin in hypocotyl of 2-15 cm 2 / 1 =absent; 2 = present habit of 3-4 week old seedling 1 1 1 = normal; 2 =compact Mature plant: height 45.7 cm 51 cm growth type 2 2 1 =indeterminate 2 = determinate form 3 3 1 = lax; 2 = normal; 3 = compact;4 = dwarf; 5 = brachytic size of canopy (compared to others of similarform) 3 2 1 = small; 2 = medium; 3 = large habit 2 2 1 = sprawling 2 =semi-erect; 3 = erect (Dwarf Champion) Stem: Branching 3 3 1 = sparse(Brehm's Solid Red; Fireball); 2 = intermediate (Westover); 3 = profuse(UC 82) branching at cotyledon or first leafy node 2 2 1 = present; 2 =absent number of nodes before first inflorescence 1 to 4 4 to 7 numberof nodes between early (1^(st) to 2^(nd), 2^(nd) to 3^(rd)) 1 2.6inflorescence pubescence on younger stems 3 3 1 = smooth (no longhairs); 2 = sparsely hairy (scattered long hairs); 3 = moderately hairy;4 = densely hairy or wooly Leaf: type: 1 1 1 = tomato 2 = potato(Trip-L-Crop) Morphology 2 2 margins of major leaflets 2 2 1 = absent; 2= shallowly toothed or scalloped 3= deeply toothed or cut, sps. towardsbase marginal rolling or wiltiness 3 3 1 = absent; 2 = slight; 3 =moderate; 4 = strong onset of leaflet rolling 2 2 1 = early-season; 2 =mid-season; 3 = late-season surface of major leaflets 2 2 1 = smooth; 2= rogues (bumpy or veiny) pubescence 2 2 1 = smooth (no long hairs); 2 =normal; 3 = hirsute; 4 = wooly Inflorescence: Type 1 1 + 2 1 = simple; 2= forked (2 major axes); 3 = compound (much branched) number of flowersin inflorescence average 5.07 5.27 leafy or “running” inflorescence 2 21 = absent; 2 = occasional; 3 = frequent Flower: calyx 1 1 1 = normal,lobes awl-shaped; 2 = macrocalyx, lobes large, leaflike; 3 = fleshycalyx-lobes 1 1 1 = shorter the corolla; 2 = approx., equaling corolla;3 = distinctly longer than corolla corolla color 1 1 1 = yellow: 2 = oldgold; 3 = white or tan style pubescence 1 1 1 = absent; 2 = sparse; 3 =dense anthers 1 1 1 = all fused into tube; 2 = separateing into 2 ormore groups at anthesis Fasciation 1 1 1st flower of 2nd or 3^(rd)inflorescence 1 = absent; 2 = occasionally present; 3 = frequentlypresent Fruit: typical shape in longitudinal section 10 10 shape oftransverse section 1 1 1 = round; 2 = flattened; 3 = angular; 4 =irregular shape of stem end 2 2 1 = flat; 2 = indented shape of blossomend 2 2 1 = indented; 2 = flat; 3 = nippled; 4 = tapered shape of pistilscar 1 1 1 = dot; 2 = stellate; 3 = linear; 4 = irregular abscissionlayer 2 2 1 = present (pedicellate); 2 = absent (jointless) point ofdetachment of fruit at harvest 2 2 1 = at pedicel joint; 2 = at calyxattachment length of pedicel (from joint to calyx attachment) — — Lengthof mature fruit (stem axis) 58.6 mm 61.2 mm Diameter of fruit at widestpoint 51.3 mm 49.6 mm Weight of mature fruit 83.9 mm 83.1 g  Number oflocules ½ ½ 1 = two; 2 = three or four; 3 = five or more Fruit surface 11 1 = smooth; 2 = slightly rough; 3 = moderately rough or ribbed Fruitbase color (mature-green stage) 2 (RHS Yellow Green 1 (RHS Yellow 1 =light green (Lanal; VF 145-F5); 149D) Green 144D) 2 = light gray-green;3 = apple or medium green (Heinz 1439 VF); 4 = yellow green; 5 = darkgreen Fruit pattern (mature-green stage) 1 1 1 = uniform green; 2 =green-shouldered; 3 = radial stripes on sides of fruit shoulder color ifdifferent from base — — 1 = dark green; 2 = grey green; 3 = yellow greenFruit color full ripe: 5 5 1 = white; 2 = yellow; 3 = orange; 4 = pink;5 = red; 6 = brownish 7 = greenish; 8 = other Flesh color full ripe: 3 31 = yellow; 2 = pink; 3 = red/crimson; 4 = orange; 5 other Flesh color:1 1 1 = uniform; 2 = with lighter and darker areas in walls locular gelcolor of table-ripe fruit 3 3 1 = green; 2 = yellow; 3 = red ripening 22 1 = blossom to stem end 2 = uniform ripening 2 2 1 = inside out; 2 =uniformity; 3 = outside in stem scar size: 1 1 1 = small (Roma); 2 =medium (Rutgers); 3 = large core: 1 1 1 = coreless (absent or smallerthan 6 × 6 mm); 2 = present epidermis color: 2 2 1 = colorless; 2 =yellow epidermis: 2 2 1 = normal; 2 = easy-peel epidermis texture: 3 3 1= tender; 2 = average; 3 = tough thickness of pericarp: 7.18 mm 6.72 mmAnthocyanin in hypocotyl of 2-15 mc seedling — — 1 = absent; 2 = presentHabit of 3-4 week old seedling: — — 1 = normal; 2 = compact Resistanceto fruit disorder: not tested not tested Disease and pest reaction: 0 =not tested; 1 = highly resistant; Virus diseases: cucumber mosaic 0 0curly top 0 0 potato-y virus 0 0 blotchy ripening 0 0 tobacco mosaicrace 0 0 0 tobacco mosaic race 1 0 0 tobacco mosaic race 2 0 0 cracking,concentric 0 0 tobacco mosaic race 2² 0 0 Tomato spotted wilt 1 0 Tomatoyellows 0 0 Gold fleck 0 0 Others 0 0 Bacterial disease: Bacterialcanker (Corynebacterium michiganense) 0 0 Bacterial soft rot (Erwiniacorotovora) 0 0 Bacterial speck (Pseudomonas tomato) 1 1 Bacterial spot(Xanthomonas vesicatorium) 0 0 Bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum)0 0 Other bacterial disease 0 0 Fungal disease: Anthracnose(Colletotrichum spp.) 0 0 Brown root rot or corky root (Pyrenochaeta 0 0lycopersici) Collar rot or stem canker (Alternaria solani) 0 0 Earlyblight defoliation (Alternaria solani) 0 0 Fusarium wilt race 1 (F.oxysporum f. lycopersici) 1 1 Fusarium wilt race 2 (F. oxysporum f.lycopersici) 0 1 Fusarium wilt race 3 (F. oxysporum f. lycopersici) 0 0Grey leaf spot (Stemphylium spp.) 0 0 Late blight, race 0 (Phytophthorainfestans) 0 0 Late blight, race 1 0 0 Leaf mold race 1 (Cladosporiomfulvum) 0 0 Leaf mold race 2 (Cladosporiom fulvum) 0 0 Leaf mold race 3(Cladosporiom fulvum) 0 0 Leaf mold other races 0 0 Nailhead spot(Alternaria tomato) 0 0 Seporia leafspot (S. lycopersici) 0 0 Targetleafspot (Corynespora casiicola) 0 0 Verticillium wilt race 1 (V.dah-liae) 1 1 Verticillium wilt race 2 0 0 Other fungal disease 0 0Insects and Pests; colorado potato beetle (L. decemlineata) 0 0 rootknot nematode (M. spp.) 1 1 spider mites (Tetranychus spp.) 0 0 sugarbeet army worm (s. exigual) 0 0 tobacco flea beetle (E. hirtipennis) 0 0tomato hoernworm (M. quinquemaculata) 0 0 tomato fruitworm (H. zea) 0 0whitefly (T. vaporariorum) 0 0 Other 0 0 Pollutants: Ozone 0 0 Sulfurdioxide 0 0 Other 0 0 Chemistry and composition of full-ripe fruits: pH4.36 4.54 Titratable acidity as % citric 10.70 9.60 Total solids — —Soluble solids as Brix 5.20 5.20 Phenology; Seeding to 50% growth (1open on 50% of plants)  34 days  33 days Seed to once harvest 110 days130 days Fruit season 4 3 1 = long (Marglobe); 2 = medium (Westover); 3= short, concentrated (VF 145); 4 = very concentrated (UC82) Relativematurity in areas tested: 1 5 1 = early; 2 = medium early; 3 = medium; 4= medium late; 5 = late; 6 = variable Adaptation Culture: 1 1 1 = field;2 = greenhouse Principle use(s): 3 + 4 + 5 4 1 = home garden; 2 = freshmarket; 3 = whole-pack canning; 4 = concentrated products 5 = other(Dice) Machine harvest: 2 2 1 = not adapted; 2 = adapted Regions towhich adaptation has been 9 + 11 9 + 11 demonstrated: 1 = Northeast; 2 =Mid Atlantic; 3 = Southeast; 4 Florida; 5 = Great Plains, 6 = southcentral; 7 = Intermountain West; 8 = Northwest; 9 = California(Sacramento and Upper San Joaquin Valley); 10 = California (CoastalAreas); 11 California (Southern San Joaquin Valley & desserts) *Theseare typical values. Values may vary due to environment. Other valuesthat are substantially equivalent are also within the scope of theinvention. N 6416 has excellent Extended Field Holding, whereas Heinz8504 lacks Extended Field Storage.

REFERENCES

The following references, to the extent that they provide exemplaryprocedural or other details supplementary to those set forth herein, arespecifically incorporated herein by reference:

U.S. Pat. No. 5,463,175

U.S. Pat. No. 5,500,365

U.S. Pat. No. 5,563,055

U.S. Pat. No. 5,633,435

U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,052

U.S. Pat. No. 5,880,275

U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,619

U.S. Pat. No. 6,806,399

WO 99/31248

EP 0 534 858

Choi et al., Plant Cell Rep., 13: 344-348, 1994.

Ellul et al., Theor. Appl. Genet., 107:462-469, 2003.

What is claimed is:
 1. A seed of tomato plant of variety N 6416, arepresentative sample of seed of said variety having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number ______.
 2. A plant produced by growing theseed of claim
 1. 3. A plant part of the plant of claim
 2. 4. The plantpart of claim 3, further defined as a leaf, pollen, an ovule, a fruit, ascion, a rootstock or a cell.
 5. The plant part of claim 3, furtherdefined as a fruit.
 6. A tomato plant, or a part thereof, having all oressentially all the physiological and morphological characteristics ofthe tomato plant of claim
 2. 7. A tissue culture of regenerable cells ofthe plant of claim
 2. 8. The tissue culture according to claim 7,comprising cells or protoplasts from a plant part selected from thegroup consisting of embryos, meristems, cotyledons, pollen, leaves,anthers, roots, root tips, pistil, flower, seed and stalks.
 9. A tomatoplant regenerated from the tissue culture of claim
 7. 10. A tomato plantregenerated from the tissue culture of claim
 8. 11. A method ofvegetatively propagating the plant of claim 2 comprising the steps of:(a) collecting tissue capable of being propagated from a plant accordingto claim 2; (b) cultivating said tissue to obtain proliferated shoots;and (c) rooting said proliferated shoots to obtain rooted plantlets. 12.The method of claim 11, further comprising growing plants from saidrooted plantlets.
 13. A method of producing a tomato plant, comprisingcrossing the plant of claim 2 with a second tomato plant one or moretimes, and selecting progeny from said crossing.
 14. A method ofintroducing a desired trait into a tomato variety comprising: (a)crossing a plant of variety N 6416, a representative sample of seed ofsaid variety having been deposited under ATCC Accession Number ______with a second tomato plant that comprises a desired trait to produce F1progeny; (b) selecting an F1 progeny that comprises the desired trait;(c) crossing the selected F1 progeny with a plant of variety N 6416 toproduce backcross progeny; (d) selecting backcross progeny comprisingthe desired trait and all or essentially all the physiological andmorphological characteristic of tomato variety N 6416; and optionally(e) repeating steps (c) and (d) three or more times in succession toproduce selected fourth or higher backcross progeny that comprise thedesired trait.
 15. A tomato plant produced by the method of claim 13 or14.
 16. A method of producing a plant comprising an added desired trait,the method comprising introducing a transgene conferring the desiredtrait into a plant of tomato variety N
 6416. 17. A method of determiningthe genotype of the plant of claim 2 comprising obtaining a sample ofnucleic acids from said plant and detecting in said nucleic acids aplurality of polymorphisms.
 18. The method of claim 17, furthercomprising the step of storing the results of detecting the plurality ofpolymorphisms on a computer readable medium.
 19. A method for producinga seed of a variety derived from N 6416 comprising the steps of: (a)crossing a tomato plant of variety N 6416 with a second tomato plant;and (b) allowing seed of a variety N 6416-derived tomato plant to form;a representative sample of seed of said variety having been depositedunder ATCC Accession Number ______.
 20. The method of claim 19 furthercomprising the steps of: (c) crossing a plant grown from said variety N6416-derived tomato seed with itself or a second tomato plant to yieldadditional variety N 6416-derived tomato seed; (d) growing saidadditional variety N 6416-derived tomato seed of step (c) to yieldadditional variety N 6416-derived tomato plants; and optionally (e)repeating the crossing and growing steps of (c) and (d) to generatefurther variety N 6416-derived tomato plants.
 21. The method of claim19, wherein the second tomato plant is of an inbred tomato variety. 22.A plant comprising the scion or rootstock of claim
 4. 23. A method ofproducing a tomato fruit comprising: (a) obtaining a plant according toclaim 2, wherein the plant has been cultivated to maturity; and (b)collecting tomato from the plant.
 24. A food or feed product comprisinga plant part of claim 3.